Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Phillies On Wrong End Of A Pitching Duel

Well, the rain held off just long enough to get the game in last night…unfortunately.The Phillies lost to the Reds 2-0 in what turned out to be a damp, drizzly, pitching duel with little to no offense on either side.5 hits total between both teams.In fact, the most action I saw all night was this squirrelwho was terrorizing fans before the game, running in and out of the seats looking for food.Women screamed and jumped on top of the seats; the men, apparently equally ill-equipped to deal with the cute and fuzzy omnivorous rodent, yelled things like, “It’s coming right for us!” and ran away, leaving their women to fend for themselves.A sad, sad scene, indeed.I, of course, followed it around for 15 minutes trying to get a picture as people starred in wonder thinking, “Who is this brave and noble soul that may save us all from this vile and horrid creature?Will she vanish it with that large, heavy object around her neck?”Sorry folks, no such luck…just a camera, not a club.And I like squirrels J

Ok, so I may have gone off on a Monty Python-like tangent there…back to baseball…Brett Myers pitched a no-hitter up until 6 and 2/3 of a game I believe.A lot of walks, but he did a hell of job!So sad that our offense could not get any runs across for him.And again, we did have a few opportunities.This is why over the last few days I have been harping on the fact that our offense has missed a lot of opportunities, even though they won those games.I saw the day coming where it was going to bite them.I feel bad for Brett, having deserved the win, and not gotten it.

I think the big turning point of the game though was in the fifth inning when it looked like there was actually a chance that Volquez would lose his cool, but Ryan Howard let him off the hook.He had hit 2 batters and loaded the bases and was literally throwing a temper tantrum on the mound to his pitching coach (it was being shown on the big screen at the park).This guy was ready to blow!This is when a smart hitter knows how to work a pitcher.You TAKE a pitch.You wait to see if this guy is going to self-destruct.But no…Ryan swings at the first pitch and pops out!Totally saves this guys’ butt and keeps the game in the bag for the Reds.So, my question is, if Ryan doesn’t know what to do in this situation, why is no one telling him what to do?While there is a conference on the mound, why isn’t there a conference with the hitter?So, my picture of the game is Ryan Howard’s last at bat.He strikes out, but the best part is, check out the background and look at Charlie Manuel’s face.Priceless!

Well, let’s hope for a better result this afternoon!Cole Hamels is looking to rebound today and I am thinking Brett’s outing should have inspired him!Go Phillies!

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